Thursday, October 20, 2022

Arelion's multi-vendor, multi-layer optical transport trial

Arelion completed a series of trials with Acacia and Cisco over multiple, third-party, open line systems. 

On a live fiber route with existing ROADM infrastructure between Hamburg and Copenhagen, Arelion successfully leveraged Acacia Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD coherent modules with greater than +1 dBm transmit power between Cisco 8000 and NCS 5700 router platforms. The trial demonstrated the seamless integration of Routed Optical Networking with DWDM transponders carrying wavelength services.

Acacia's Bright 400ZR+ pluggable coherent optical modules can plug into Cisco routers, enabling Arelion's further adoption of the simpler and more scalable architecture of Routed Optical Networking, combining innovations in silicon, optics and routing systems. 

Arelion also highlighted the interworking on brownfield long-haul applications built with third-party optical line systems

"Multi-layer architecture has always been challenging to scale and operate due to decades of accumulated complexity. With this latest trial, Arelion demonstrated the possibility to simplify conversion and interoperability, bringing us closer to Routed Optical Networking that evolves cost structures, scalability and efficiency," said Dariusz Solowiej, VP Network Technology & Customer Operations at Arelion. "400G coherent pluggables will help our customers secure high-performance connectivity at the lowest cost and help us grow our networks in scale as we continue to connect the world."

"As the latest entrant in our comprehensive family of 400G pluggables, the Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD is designed to expand optical transceiver applications by supporting higher transmit power and performance consistent with legacy coherent optics," Benny Mikkelsen, Vice President/Chief Technology Officer at Acacia, now part of Cisco. "The ability of these solutions to meet the varying needs of network operators, while driving economies of scale on a common technology platform, is a key advantage for providers such as Arelion to grow their networks."

https://www.arelion.com/about-us/press-releases/400G-field-trial.html